


De Facto

by appending_fic



Series: Valuation [2]
Category: Buddy Thunderstruck (Cartoon)
Genre: Best Friends, Buddy Just Wants His Bro to Be Happy, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Light Angst, M/M, Miscommunication, Oblivious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 15:32:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13684551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/appending_fic/pseuds/appending_fic
Summary: Possession is nine-tenths of the law.Or, five things that should have clued Darnell in to how Buddy saw things.





	De Facto

**Author's Note:**

> This technically takes place before Ulterior, but I would highly recommend reading that first. This story is a little angstier if you don't already know how Ulterior ends.
> 
> But hey, whatever floats your boat.
> 
> (And yeah, I'm riding out this inspiration until it peters out.)

_**I - Roommates**_

"Hey, Darnell!" Darnell, still tangled up in his graduation robes, had no opportunity to escape before Buddy Thunderstruck descended on him. The dog dragged Darnell in for an exuberant hug, one absent the customary distance two bros would allow to prevent untoward assumptions. After a year and a half, Darnell was used to the sincerity of Buddy's affection, but for the moment, it left him a little...uncomfortable. Darnell had some time ago adapted to the difficulties of balancing his occasional attraction to Buddy to Buddy's need to be within arms' reach whenever possible.

And then Darnell had gone and given Buddy a truck. The soft, awed expression on Buddy's face as he'd turned to Darnell and blurted, "Marry me," had undone months of work; Darnell could barely look Buddy in the eye, and he was increasingly worried of Buddy discovering how...hard it was to have him so close.

"I hope you are sitting down because I have the most amazing news."

"We're standing, Buddy-"

"Auntie Uncle said we can live in her garage!"

"Uh-"

"I figure it's a great place to start out until we get real names for ourselves racing and can get somewhere awesome to live on our own. And with a garage _in our house_ , you can work on the truck, or whatever, whenever you want!"

Darnell wouldn't have to explain the whole thing to Buddy. He could just say he'd like to live on his own for a while, that he'd like some time without any parents or roommates. He wouldn't have to tell Buddy that living together would quadratically increase the chances of Darnell snapping one morning and mounting Buddy in a hormone-fueled stupor.

That putting a little distance between them would give Darnell a chance to get back his equilibrium before he ruined their friendship.

Buddy was staring at Darnell, one lip worried between his teeth. "I didn't tell her we'd take it yet, Darnell, if you wanted to look somewhere else for us to stay instead. I wouldn't want for our first place together to be somewhere you feel uncomfortable."

Darnell stifled a groan, fought back the urge to tell Buddy he couldn't just do things like this, act like it was a given they'd be a part of each others' lives, be important enough parts of each others' lives to be sharing _multiple residences_ over that period. It wasn't fair that he looked so enthused about the prospect, promising that if Darnell ruined that dream, he'd be struggling to assuage that guilt for years.

"I think we _should_ take a look at some other places before we make a decision. I have no idea what other options we might have; what if we miss out on an abandoned firehouse because we took the first thing that came along?"

And although Darnell knew he'd consigned himself to months of cold showers, awkward evasion, and the possible heartbreak of seeing the sorts of girls Buddy would take home while finally out on his own, the grin, wide, bright, and snaggle-toothed, from Buddy told him he'd made the right choice.

_**II - Sleeping Arrangements**_

"No."

"Are you saying you want to go back to the race car bed? Because I can get behind the race car bed. It may require some adjustment, but if anyone can make it work, we can."

"I don't want to buy the race car bed." Darnell pinched at his forehead, glancing sidelong at the sales associate Buddy had flagged down. The woman had the overwhelmed look Darnell had grown used to seeing on the faces of those interacting with Buddy recently. "I am wondering why we need one...big bed."

Buddy tilted his head, curious, and if Darnell had to explain to Buddy in the middle of a furniture store and in front of a sales associate why Darnell did not want to share a bed with him, he might die of sheer embarrassment.

"It still sounds like you want the race car bed."

Darnell gave the sales associate a desperate look, hoping she could see in his expression enough of his plight to offer him a way out of this. Because Darnell may have agreed to live with Buddy, but no force on Earth could force him to share a bed with Buddy, not if he had any hope of salvaging their friendship from his awkward crush on the dog.

"Um, I get plenty of customers who need...space when they're sleeping. I can sell you a pair of twins for the same price as this queen bed."

Darnell knew Buddy didn't have it in him to manipulate Darnell, that his expression was in no way schooled to force Darnell to go along with this madness. But the flicker of surprise, the slumping of his shoulders, made it clear Buddy wanted this. Darnell grit his teeth, fighting the urge to give in on this. Setting aside his stupid crush on Buddy, the two of them needed space to develop different lives.

"Maybe I can interest you in one of our adult bunk beds?"

The shift in Buddy's expression was immediate, from confusion and disappointment to that devil-may-care grin, the combination of anticipation and delight that had been Darnell's downfall on so many occasions and was currently acting against his better judgment.

"When you say adult bunk beds-"

"I call top bunk!"

_**III - Emergency**_

When Darnell was a kid, even as recent as a year ago, he'd felt strangely detached from the news that a friend had been injured. Certainly he cared about them, and helped them feel better (when Buddy had fractured his wrist Darnell had been on hand as often as he could afford to). As an adult, there was an immediacy to injury that made it feel more real.

Darnell had never had phobias, had never experienced a lot of terror in his life, but the feeling in his gut driving to the hospital to find if Buddy would be okay was something like it. The numbness that left his mind a vague fog seemed to be trying to conceal the occasional flashes of clarity, the realization that injuries could be _life-threatening_ , and Darnell wasn't remotely prepared for Buddy dying on him.

The Rabble Rouser wasn't finished yet; it drove, of course, and according to Buddy handled like a dream, but it wasn't the fastest thing on the road, yet. Buddy strutted every time he won a race, but he had to fight damn hard for it, so they still had a way to go before…

In any case, Buddy couldn't _die_.

Darnell didn't bother parking; he had the keys, so unless an enterprising car thief went to the trouble to find the alternate ignition method, the Rabble Rouser wasn't going anywhere, and there was an even chance Sheriff Cannonball would add the ticket to their tab rather than tow them, if anyone thought to report it.

Darnell had more important places to be.

"Where's Buddy Thunderstruck?"

The nurse at the information desk gave Darnell a cool look. "Are you his family?"

"I…" Of course not. Darnell wanted to curse, or kick himself, for imagining he'd be allowed to visit Buddy, for thinking Buddy being his bro meant much of anything in the real world. "Do you know if his family's here? I'm Darnell Fetzervalve; they shouldn't be surprised to see me."

"Oh!" The nurse's eyes widened, and she offered Darnell a tight, professional smile. "You should've said you were Mr. Thunderstruck's medical proxy. He's in room 336, and not in any danger."

"Oh, um. Thank you?" 

Darnell tracked down the elevator and Buddy's room in another sort of haze. He wasn't certain how to put a name to the feeling in his chest. Of course Buddy would want Darnell to know if he'd been hurt, but this seemed a step further than keeping one's best friend in the loop.

He decided to push that aside when he reached Buddy's room; his roommate's physical trauma was a more immediate and concrete problem, one he could deal with without further introspection.

"Darnell! Thank goodness you're here! They're saying I'm going to have to stay here another week and I can't miss tomorrow's race." Darnell let the words wash over him, taking in Buddy's approximate condition. He didn't have any casts, but there were bandages across his torso and head, and a splint on one of his fingers. "Darnell?"

"Okay, this is unacceptable."

"What?"

"This." Darnell waved his hand at Buddy. "If I'm going to be responsible for your well-being, we're going to lay down some ground rules. First, no damn-fool stunts unless you're in the Rabble Rouser, and not unless I'm there."

Buddy's eyes were wide, his mouth hanging open slightly.

"And another thing. You _tell_ a man when you've given him power of life and death over you."

"I…"

"Do I make myself clear?"

Buddy nodded, hesitantly, and Darnell collapsed into the chair next to his bed.

"Thank goodness. I was worried about you, you jerk."

Buddy's shock gave way to a gentle smile. "Sorry for making you worry, Darnell. I just-"

"Doesn't matter. We've got our new ground rules, so I know exactly how you got yourself into these dumb stunts before they land you in the hospital. Now, is Auntie Uncle around?"

"I don't know - didn't you call her?"

Darnell's only options were to laugh or cry, so he just let the laughter fall out of him, dragging out for nearly, and then another ten when, as Darnell was just about to calm down, Buddy asked if Darnell needed to know he had Buddy's power of attorney, as well.

_**IV - Flirt**_

"Hey! Hey! Let's drink to Buddy Thunderstruck!" There was a responding roar and glasses all over the Bolo were raised in a toast, a maneuver which, with the average level of intoxication in the room, resulted in more than a few spills.

Darnell merely raised his glass from his position at the side of the mob. He _could_ be fighting to stay by Buddy's side, but after the week he'd had, he couldn't muster up the energy to keep pushing through the crowd. Between last-minute improvements on the Rabble Rouser, accommodating Buddy's insistence on early morning practices, and the race itself, Darnell was bone tired. Buddy, of course, was fresh, energized, and ready to party all night.

And he deserved it. Buddy was a regular winner in the Greasepit circuit, but the tri-state championship was something else. There'd been better racers, better cars, better mechanics, but not in the right combination to beat Buddy and Darnell in the Rabble Rouser. Darnell had plans, too, to remedy the existence of the better cars.

But for now, he was happy watching Buddy, gold medal tucked under his arm, accept drinks from his adoring public.

Buddy suddenly froze, waving away a congratulatory back pat, and scrambled up onto the nearest table. He scanned the crowd hurriedly, until his gaze fell on Darnell and he grinned.

"Excuse me! Excuse me!" Voices died down slowly until the room was silent, all eyes on Buddy. "Now I want to take a moment to toast the most attractive person in this room."

"To Buddy!"

"Appreciate the thought, Weaselbrat, but that is not the aim of my particular speechifying. I would like to acknowledge the secret to my success, the greatest mechanic this side of the Mississippi, and we're coming for you Jaspar Whitmore, and the most attractive man I have ever seen in real life: Darnell Fetzervalve."

"To Darnell!"

Darnell didn't move, certain from the heat in his cheeks that he was blushing. His glass was not large enough to duck behind, so he was seriously considering fleeing into the kitchen, lifetime ban be damned, to avoid the semi-undivided attention Buddy's announcement had earned.

So distracted by his own embarrassment, Darnell didn't notice Buddy until he was right next to him, grinning wide.

"There you are, Darnell! I was worried you decided to leave our moment of glory early! But here you are, right where you belong. To Darnell!"

"To Darnell!" 

In the confusion of the toast, Buddy leaned down and kissed Darnell's cheek. "You're the greatest."

Darnell made a mental note to figure out how much Buddy had had to drink so he could keep that from ever happening again.

_**V - Commitment**_

"Do you think you'll ever leave Greasepit?"

Buddy, hanging upside down on the couch, twisted his head to face Darnell's workbench. He wasn't frowning, quite, but looked serious enough to suggest he'd actually heard Darnell's question.

"I tried that once. Was not a fan. I suppose if I were on the international racing circuit I'd have to take business trips out of town. Do they let people put trucks on planes, or would we have to drive to Monte Carlo?"

Darnell smiled at the rambling response, because it was typical of Buddy, and comforting to hear the response he'd expected, despite not answering the question he'd meant to ask.

"Wait a minute." Buddy scrambled upright, crossing the garage in a few wide strides to hover at Darnell's side. "You're not worried I'm going to leave you behind, are you? I can't win without you, bro. I can't _race_ without you."

"I…" Darnell's hands stilled on the alternator he'd been working on. He couldn't say what had moved him to ask the question, but he hadn't expected an answer like that. He'd expected Buddy to blithely insist he'd be winning races in Greasepit for the next hundred years. Not...whatever Buddy had just said.

"And don't worry if you've got some big plans yourself; wherever you go, I'm there with you. Daytona, Tokyo, Monte Carlo - I can race anywhere, bro."

And then there was that. Darnell risked a glance at Buddy, who was just...smiling at him. No joke, no bravado, just the declaration that Darnell was stuck with Buddy, wherever the two of them ended up. Darnell tried to return to his work, but his hands were shaking just enough it'd ruin the alternator if he kept it up.

So he set it all aside and made a show of stretching. "All that talk about the future's making me tired. How about you find something to watch and I'll see if I can make Concho Bolo Pizza happen." Buddy's grin widened, and Darnell stepped back, self-conscious. "What?"

" _That's_ why you're my best bro," Buddy declared. "I'll see if we've got any soda that hasn't expired yet."

Buddy practically sauntered away, whistling to himself, leaving Darnell the choice of staring after him or ordering their pizza.

In the end, he decided trying to enjoy himself was a better use of his time than trying to puzzle out what exactly made Buddy Thunderstruck tick. And if the evening ended with Buddy sprawled across Darnell's lap three movies into their kung fu marathon despite the gallon of caffeinated sugar they'd both drank, it was just proof that this had been one of their awesome ideas.


End file.
